emilies interiors

Now that I’ve passed my symbolic milestone of 250 published blog posts I would like to start this one for refining the description of my motivation for sharing content.  In April 2009 I started to publish posts with the aim to share my enthusiasm for home decor and interiors. Later that year I’ve used emilies.com for an online inquiry. The goal of my research was to map the need for inspiration and from the results I learned something that is fundamental for Dutch Stylist/Decorators. The research group I addressed to (a representation of Dutch home owners) was not in need of any help from stylists/decorators during the renovation/decoration of their homes. But it did want to be inspired by magazines, TV programs, family and friends.

With this insight I changed my market approach and started to exploit my skills in Home Staging. Today, after a successful first season I’ve a moment to look back and can conclude that people called me for help at the end of the life cycle of a decorated home instead of the beginnings, which is the normal part where a stylist comes in. I must confess that this situation suits me better for the reason that I can apply a combination of the experience in e-Commerce and my skills in Styling.

To make a long story short; in my area the upscale market is tough. For loans higher than € 500.000 the banks are not easy in providing mortgages and the uncertainty about the future mortgage deduction (a government policy that made our real estate market boom until the end of 2008) is lingering on while Holland is a bit lost without a government. It’s in our culture to await a moment like this and in my opinion this behavior does do no good for the real estate market with the consequences that there is neither a buyers’ market nor a seller’s market. The only thing I can advice a seller is to see his/her home as a commercial object without any hopes that the boom will be back before 2011. Potential buyers are willing to visit a top 5 of best presented homes in their favorite area. With this insight a home owner has to make sure that;

1. the object will be sold by the best real estate agent in town,
2. the new owners can move in without the hassle of renovation,
3. the house will be staged | dressed | photographed by an expert in order to be part of the top 5.

While I’m working on my track record (until now I’ve co-sold homes within a average of 6,5 weeks), I’ll  keep you posted about the latest trends in interior design and continue to share my tips and tricks in home decor.

from Vogue Living July | August 2010

Next to some classics in bentwood Thonet delivered great design in table bases. This Thonet dining table is part of the kitchen interiors of a Paris duplex. For a staging project in Amsterdam I applied a set of 2 Thonet bases. The first is a salon table that consists of a chrome tubular frame and the original wooden tabletop. The second one is a black coated steel base, that I enriched with a smoked glass tabletop that I found left in the to be staged apartment.

Thonet salon table

Thonet table foot in staged home Amsterdam

Next post more about the Paris duplex decorated by Baroness Bruno de Pampelonne.

Huize Toorenvliet, Verlengde Hereweg 183, Groningen

While checking the latest offers in property valued at a higher price than 1 million euro’s, I bumped into this monument that I know well. The reason for sharing this architectural marvel is its online presentation. Even for a trained eye it is difficult to see if this house has been staged. For certain it is has been tidied up and cleaned, but from the look of the state of the gardens and interiors you could think that the owners lost their energy to maintain this huge place.

What I like about this set of photos is the potential of this 10 room mansion. The person whom shot this is an expert in gripping the atmosphere of the gardens, the house and the fifties interiors. The results are some precious fundamentals for a restoration of its previous glamour from the nineteen thirties. If you are interested in this mansion located in Groningen (within reach of a small airport), have a look at Funda.

Aquartis Building, across the Amsterdam ZOO

With joy I would like to share with you the results of my latest ‘ dress to sell’  commission. The subject of this project is a four-room apartment in the Aquartis building, situated across the Amsterdam Zoo. The owners asked me to style and photograph their beautiful and valuable home. I must say it was fun to do this and together with my clients managed to prepare this apartment for a relaunch within 24 hours. Have a look for yourself and experience the differences between the old and new situation. If you would like to see  the complete results of the photoshoot, click here for my Flickr photo album.

Apartment (first floor) for sale

Living before

Living after emilies was asked to dress this amazing apartment

Nice seating for morning paper and coffee

Dining area before

Dining area before

Dining area after

Master bedroom before

Master bedroom before

Master bedroom after

Bathroom before

Bathroom after

Bedroom for guests before

Room for guests after

Study before

Study after

Kitchen before

Kitchen after

The next blog posts will appear next week for the reason that I’m off to New York to meet my collegue Donna Dazzo. She is the owner of DesigntoAppeal, a Home Staging company that serves New York City and The Hamptons.  Thanks to her I’ll attend a RESA meeting next Monday!

Today I’m shooting the interiors of an XL apartment with a new lens and I’m very happy with it.  I must confess that I’m a bit late in purchasing this basic instrument for a photographer. The results are much brighter than before but I’m not sure that this observation is the result of a psychological excuse for this  big investment.  Anyway instead of 3 pairs of high heels I’ve elevated my professional status with this new aquisition. Tomorrow more about the results.

I’m a regular visitor of the Zara Home store in the Amsterdam Kalverstraat. The basic line in white bath linen (Egyptian cotton) of this Spanish brand is great and well to apply in my photography of valuable homes. Each time I visit the store I’m happily confused by the soft smell of white jasmine. After a careful investigation I’ve learned that this line in oils, soaps, candles and fragrance sticks is a bestseller since Zara home store management put the oil in the air co dispenser.

My experiences of this lovely and relaxing smell, combined with Zara’s sales trick make me the more aware that the sense of smell is  indispensable in the home staging process. It’s like the smell of fresh baked bread in the Dean  & Deluca or that of coffee in the Starbucks. Why not apply this sales promotion in your home?

Albert van Iperen is a furniture maker and a skilled restaurateur of antique furniture. His atelier is in an old monumental building that the municipality of The Hague assigned to promising artists. The Windsor Thonet chair, the one I applied in the last home staging project, came from his collections. When I visited his atelier I was thrilled by his assembly of cabinets, drawers and mirrors from the nineteen century.  Albert has a passion for antiques and in his enthusiasm he is willing to give you a small lecture about the heritage of each piece of his collections. I was rewarded for my interest in a mirror and learned the following interesting thing about mirrors from the second half of the nineteen century.

The glass they used in those days is much thicker than that of recent copies. Therefore the wooden frames needed to be solid in order to house the heavy mirrors properly. The frames were provided with a mixture of plaster and glue and this fundamental layer was an excellent basis for the gilding. The mirrors photographed by Albert have been gilded with silver instead of gold. On the two black frames you can see the difference in the aging process of the gilding. The frame without the mirror almost did lose its silver layer. The white frame is bare and shows the basis with the mixture of plaster and glue. Probably this info will help you in your search for old mirrors at local flea markets.

Good luck and send me a pic of your new mirrored purchase!

Entrepotdok, Amsterdam

I’m preparing for a new project and shot some pics last week of this architectural marvel that is located on a canal and across the Amsterdam zoo. While shooting the site I enjoyed the settings full of trees, flower pots, the humming noise of passing pleasure yachts and the cries of cheerful sea lions. Click  for a visual impression on my Flickr account.

A Belgian cabinet

For a home staging project I ordered this old cabinet. It’s from the end of the nineteen century or from the beginnings of the next.  The antiques dealer bought this piece of brocante (the French word for flea) at a Belgium flea market. For the last 5 years or so, a mix between the American Cape Cod- & the French country style has been a much appreciated style for the Dutch market. My antiques dealer told me that his clientele is mad about his white chalked drawers, cupboards, cabinets and kitchen tables. The rougher the condition of its furniture, the better and his customers are willing to pay for it.

I’m not a fan of this mix in country styles but I do like the use of furniture from the late eighteen or early nineteen century for the simple reason that in that period the cabinet makers delivered quality work and ingenious constructions in demountable furniture.

Front Manus Peetstraat

Entrance

Hall

Terrace south

Living

View into garden

Dining area

Siematic kitchen

Master bedroom

Bathroom parents

Terrace east

If you are interested in this villa from 1969, click here for more at Funda.